FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT ROUGH RIDERS - PAGE 2

The Boys of '98: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders By Dale L. Walker Forge Books, 304 pages, $22.95 One hundred years ago, the United States was a brash young nation flexing its muscles and itching for a fight. Along came the brash young Theodore Roosevelt -- flexing his muscles and itching for a fight, just the right man at the right time. In "The Boys of '98," Dale L. Walker evokes the nation's breathless optimism just before the turn of the century, when the nightmare of the Civil War was fading and Americans could turn their attention from domestic to foreign affairs.

"We few. We happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother." -- Shakespeare, "Henry the Fifth" The words of Shakespeare hang over the dinner table of the New York elite as they drink and anticipate their future as soldiers. The scene gives the viewer a telling glimpse of the bond men find in war. That bonding "is what this mini-series is about," says director and co-writer John Milius. "It shows you that things happen to people that they never get over.

"Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut" FOX, $34.98 Who's in it: Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Eva Green Recap: Lost in the shuffle of other failed historical sword-fighting epics, "Kingdom of Heaven" gets restored to a length better suited to its grand and timely subject matter, the Crusades. Best extra: The new cut, running nearly an hour longer than the theatrical version, clears up relationships and plot points that went curiously unexplored or unexplained on the big screen.

On April 22, 1500, Pedro Alvarez Cabral landed in Brazil, which he claimed for Portugal. In 1509 Henry VIII ascended the throne of England following the death of his father, Henry VII. In 1724 Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant was born in Konigsburg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). In 1864 Congress authorized the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins. In 1889 the Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon as thousands of homesteaders staked claims. In 1898 Congress authorized creation of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, popularly known as the "Rough Riders."

We just had to ask, didn't we? After Major League Baseball decided to crack down on uniform manufacturers' using pro baseball names, we decided to give you a chance to nab a name that wouldn't cost you an arm and a leg. So we invited you to write in and tell other kids, "Hey! Name your team this." The good news is that if you use these names, the people making your uniforms shouldn't have to pay Major League Baseball some extra bucks. The bad news is - be picky about the one you select.

By Bill Harrison, Laurence Holmes, Mike Jaros, John K. McCarthy, John Montgomery, Bill O'Connor, John Phelps, George Sherling, Bob Skolnik, Robert Tarjan and Scott Walsh contributed to this report | January 9, 1998

Lashawn Taylor appropriately wears No. 23 for Roosevelt, and her Michael Jordan impression Thursday was just enough to lift the Rough Riders past Taft 89-85 in four overtimes. Taylor scored 44 points on 54 percent shooting (15 for 28) and added 22 rebounds. She scored all of Roosevelt's points in the final overtime as the Rough Riders outscored Taft 10-6 for the victory and gained sole possession of first place in the Public Red North. Her three-pointer with 5 seconds left in regulation tied the game 60-60 and sent it into the first extra session.

Movie fans expect to see actor Sam Elliott sporting three days' growth of beard while sitting atop a chiseled stallion. They expect to see him maneuvering a Harley on screen as his hair blows freely in the wind. What they might not expect is to see Elliott clean-shaven, decked in well-tailored suits on a set that bears a striking resemblance to the Oval Office. For most of his career, fans have known the 56-year-old actor as a Rough Rider and an easy rider on the big and small screens, not a Washington insider.

FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS, professional photographer John Booz has spent his summer Sundays at a dirt ring in the shadow of the Cook County Jail or on a 100-acre farm near Lemont, capturing the brutal beauty of Mexican-style bull riding and rodeo. What makes him return again and again is not the ever-present danger to man and beast but the drama, pageantry and skill of the competitors, like the graceful cowgirls who ride into the ring in their flowing dresses and sombreros, guiding their huge horses with a whisper and a whip through a dusty horseback dance.